The present disclosure relates generally to user interfaces, and in particular to a user interface that enables the user selection of remote displays for viewing at a local display.
Computers and other electronic devices are capable of communicating with each other over networks such as local area networks, wide area networks, and the Internet. Approaches have been devised for allowing one computer to remotely control another computer over a network. Apple Remote Desktop, initially released by Apple Inc. on Mar. 14, 2002, is an example of a software application that enables such remote control. Further details about a recent release of Apple Remote Desktop may be found in “Apple Remote Desktop Administrator Guide Version 3.3,” which is incorporated by reference herein. In the discussion below, the controlling computer, which is located in the user's immediate presence, and to which the user has physical access, is referred to as the “local computer.” The remotely controlled computer, which is not necessarily located in the user's immediate presence, and to which the user does not necessarily have physical access, is referred to below as the “remote computer.”
Often, in a remote control scenario, both the local computer and the remote computer will have directly connected displays or monitors, such as active-matrix liquid crystal displays. A display may be directly connected to a computer via a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), a Video Graphics Array (VGA) connector, a Digital Visual Interface (DVI), or some other physical data communication port. Alternatively, a display can be communicatively coupled to the computer using wireless technology. Additionally, using the “AirPlay” feature in Mac OS X 10.8, a user can mirror a display to some other display. Such technology can potentially be used to create a second display for a computer rather than just mirroring the contents of a display. Furthermore, in the case of a computer that is only used for remote access, there might not be actual hardware displays connected to that computer at all; under such circumstances, the computer can create virtual displays of any given width and height. On a Macintosh computer, one can set the logical arrangement of these virtual displays. As discussed herein, “displays” includes both physical and virtual displays. Each computer will send, to the display that is directly or otherwise connected to that computer, signals that the display then uses to render an image that will be visually shown on the display. In the discussion below, any display that is directly or otherwise connected to the local computer is referred to as a “local display.” Any display that is otherwise directly connected to the remote computer is referred to below as “remote display.”
In a remote control scenario, the remote computer will also send, over the network to the local computer, data indicative of the image that is currently being shown on the remote display. In response to receiving this data, the local computer sends, to the local display, signals that represent this data. The local display then uses these signals to render an image that is visually shown on the local display. Thus, the local display may show images that are currently being shown on the remote display, better enabling the user of the local computer to remotely control the remote computer.
Under some circumstances, multiple remote displays might be directly connected to the remote computer. Under such circumstances, the local computer may execute software that presents, on the local display, a user interface that enables the user of the local computer to select which one(s) of the remote displays are to have their currently presented images shown on the local display. The user interface may identify each remote display by a number, such as “Display 1” and “Display 2.” The user interface also may indicate, for each display, what the current resolution settings for that display are. Unfortunately, the user of the local computer often cannot determine, based only on this meager information presented via the user interface, which remote display is currently showing the image that the user would like to view on the local computer. Even if the user has been to the remote site previously, the user might not know which of the multiple remote displays is being referred to in the user interface as “Display 1,” and which of the multiple remote displays is being referred to in the user interface as “Display 2.” Consequently, the user typically endures the aggravation of selecting the desired remote display through a trial-and-error process, in which the user selects each remote monitor in turn until the user sees the desired image on the local display.